Chrome Translate Not Working? Check These 3 Settings

If Chrome Translate is not working on your computer, the cause is almost always one of three settings. Open Settings > Languages and check that Use Google Translate is on, that the page’s language is not in Never offer to translate these languages, and that you have not listed that language as one you read. To translate a page right now, right-click it and choose Translate to [your language].

Prefer to watch? This short video walks through the same three settings.

Who this applies to

Google Chrome on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Not version-specific.
No Google account needed. If you are signed in with sync on, your language settings follow you to other computers.
On a Chromebook, translation offers are managed in the Chromebook’s own language settings. The same three checks apply there.
On Android or iPhone, see our separate guide to the missing translate button on Chrome mobile.

Why is Chrome not offering to translate?

Chrome only offers to translate when it thinks a page is in a language you do not read. Your settings decide what “a language you do not read” means. So when translation goes quiet, Chrome is usually following an instruction you gave it weeks ago. Find your branch below:

Translation is off everywhere. No translate icon appears in the address bar on any foreign page. Your sign: right-clicking a page shows no Translate option at all. The Use Google Translate toggle is off.
One language never gets offered. French pages translate fine, but Spanish pages never do. Your sign: it is always the same language. You probably clicked “Never translate” for it once.
Chrome thinks you read the language. Your sign: the language appears in your Preferred languages list. Chrome does not offer to translate languages you have told it you understand.
Translation starts but fails. The icon appears, but you get an error or the page stays the same. Your sign: settings look fine. This is usually a connection, extension, or page problem, covered further down.

How do I translate a page right now?

You do not need the automatic offer to translate a page. These steps work even when the prompt never shows up, as long as translation is turned on.

Right-click anywhere on the page, away from links and images.
Choose Translate to [your language].
If you only need a paragraph, highlight it, right-click, and choose Translate selection to [your language].

If the Translate option is missing from the right-click menu too, go to setting 1 below.

Setting 1: Is Use Google Translate turned on?

Click the three-dot More menu at the top right of Chrome.
Click Settings.
Click Languages in the left sidebar. You can also type chrome://settings/languages in the address bar.
Scroll down to the Google Translate section.
Turn on Use Google Translate.
Reload the foreign-language page.

The Google Translate section sits below your Preferred languages list, so on a small screen you have to scroll past the list to reach the toggle.

If the toggle is greyed out with a building icon next to it, your browser is managed by a school or workplace. Only your administrator can turn translation back on.

Setting 2: Is the language on your never-translate list?

This is the setting people forget. One click on “Never translate” in the translate popup adds a language to this list, and Chrome stays silent about that language from then on.

Open Settings > Languages.
In the Google Translate section, find Never offer to translate these languages.
Click Remove next to the language you want translated again.
Reload the page.

While you are there, check Automatically translate these languages. Adding a language here makes Chrome translate it without asking, which is handy if you read a lot of pages in one language.

You can also block translation for a single website from the translate popup. If one site never gets offered while others in the same language do, open the translate icon on a page from that site and check its options for a “never translate this site” choice.

Setting 3: Does Chrome think you already read the language?

Open Settings > Languages.
Look at the Preferred languages list at the top.
If a language you do not read is listed, click the three-dot menu next to it and choose Remove.
Check Translate into this language in the Google Translate section and make sure it is the language you want to read.

Languages sneak into this list when you travel, borrow a computer, or set up a keyboard for another language.

What if translation starts but fails?

Refresh the page and try again. Google’s own help page suggests this first.
Check your internet connection. Page translation is done by Google’s servers, so it fails offline or on a weak network.
Open the page in an Incognito window. If translation works there, an extension is interfering. Turn your extensions off one at a time to find it.
Update Chrome from More > Help > About Google Chrome, then relaunch.

Some pages cannot be translated by the browser at all. Text inside images, and pages that do not tell Chrome what language they use, often get no offer. For those, copy the text into translate.google.com or use Google Lens on the image.

What does not fix Chrome Translate?

Clearing cache and cookies. Your translate choices are saved as Chrome settings, not as browsing data. Clearing history leaves the never-translate list exactly as it was.
Reinstalling Chrome. Your settings live in your profile, and if sync is on they come straight back after you sign in. The same never-translate entry returns with them.
Reloading over and over. If a setting is blocking the offer, every reload gets the same answer. Change the setting first, then reload.

FAQ

Why did Chrome stop translating one language but not others?

That language is almost certainly on your Never offer to translate list, or in your Preferred languages list. Remove it in Settings > Languages.

Why is there no Translate option in the right-click menu?

Use Google Translate is turned off, or your organization has disabled translation. Turn the toggle on in Settings > Languages, or ask your administrator.

Does Chrome Translate work offline?

No. Full-page translation sends the page text to Google’s translation service, so you need a working connection.

The short version

When Chrome Translate goes quiet, it is usually obeying a setting. Check the Use Google Translate toggle, your never-translate list, and your preferred languages, in that order. The right-click Translate option gets you through any page in the meantime.